Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is always something of a wild card for the New York Yankees. But if recent history is any indicator, he seems likely to start the year ready to hit.
Stanton smoked a pair of Stantonian blasts Wednesday that traveled more than 800 feet in New York’s 8-1 spring-training win over the Toronto Blue Jays then spoke about his timing becoming “more precise” with just two weeks until opening day.
Despite hitting 186 home runs in 740 games since the Yankees acquired him from the Miami Marlins ahead of the 2018 season, he has been plagued by leg and elbow injuries. The latter injury limited him to 77 games in 2025 and more recently has kept him from being able to open a bag of chips.
But if Stanton is right, he is still one of the most formidable right-handed hitters in baseball and makes the Yankees’ lineup deeper.
Giancarlo Stanton’s Timing is ‘Getting More Precise’
Stanton’s injury may have cost him 80+ games, but he still logged his best OPS (.944) since winning the National League MVP with the Marlins nearly a decade ago. He hit 24 homers and drove in 66 runs in just 281 plate appearances — his homer rate would have him hitting 51 in a 600-plate-appearance season.
So keeping Stanton healthy is the objective but also getting him on track is important. He has all four of his spring training hits in the past two games, with three homers — including the two massive blasts Wednesday.
“My timing is getting more precise, being able to replicate multiple games,” Stanton told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “I’ve been able to make the adjustments. The past game or two, my timing wasn’t there. I was able to go make the adjustments and come back and feel a little better.
“So that’s usually how spring goes. Put back-to-back [games] together, put three in a row.”
Stanton has only played four spring training games, since the Yankees have been toeing the line of getting him ramped up and making sure he’s able to play physically. But he told Hoch that Wednesday was tough, since he had to juggle his routine with the dregs of spring.
“Today was a long day,” Stanton said. “We had a lot of pregame meetings and some team stuff, and then I just get my full routine in — make sure I get enough running in, the Trajekt timing.
“I think it’s more with all that I’ve got to do pregame, to get all that in with getting my timing right, [I have] to make sure I still have time before the game for a little break to then go out. In spring, sometimes I get pushed right into the game. So it’s about getting the pregame flow in.”
The Yankees Want to Make Sure Giancarlo Stanton is Ramped Up for the Postseason
The Yankees will say all the right things about having Stanton available during the regular season. But they really need him when October rolls around.
The 2024 ALCS MVP is tied with Mickey Mantle for the third-most postseason home runs in Yankees history (18) behind only Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams — despite the fact he’s logged just 177 at-bats in 48 postseason games with the Yankees — even though he slashed .192/.267/.269 in the playoffs last year.
Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton Sends Strong Message After 2-HR Game